Early Life and Career
Sammy Kershaw was born in Kaplan in Acadiana in south Louisiana. At the age of eleven, Sammy received his first guitar, a gift from his grandfather. However, his father died that same year. Thereafter young Kershaw worked a variety of jobs by day while playing roadhouses at night to support his family.
He began performing in Acadiana with Louisiana legend J.B. Pere. Subsequently, he opened shows for Ray Price, Merle Haggard and George Jones while barely into his teens. When the pressures of growing up fast took their toll in the form of a serious drug and alcohol problem, he quit his bad habits in 1988 and took a break from music to work as a remodeling supervisor at Wal-Mart.
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